Chapter 27: Last Thing You Would Ever Expect

Samuel got out of the truck and sprinted through the Dairy Queen parking lot. Jackson immediately barked at him, grabbing Warren’s attention. Warren was wearing a navy blue baseball cap. Samuel could recognize his son in that hat from a mile away, his favorite New York Yankees hat, of course he would be wearing it. Samuel should have checked for it in the house before he left. But that was all in hindsight now.

“Dad?”

Samuel was reunited with the only living member of his family left on this earth. They cried in each other’s arms, he could only say one thing. He could only ask about his sisters and mother.

“Mom and the girls?” Warren stood up out of his father’s arms and wiped away his tears.

“I’m sorry, Warren,” Samuel looked up, having failed them, and him, “But, they’re dead.”

Warren did not want to blame his father, but the resentment was there. He knew if Samuel had been home they would not have stayed in the city for so long, for too long. Warren let the anger fill a hole in his heart that was left after losing his family. For now, it made him strong. Warren brought them over to his bosses Gibbons and Jonah, who were loading boxes of frozen hotdogs, hamburgers, and fries into their truck.

Annie was out of the car with Jackson, playing in the parking lot. Annie was convinced that he was a special dog. At the very least Jackson was a good luck charm, bringing Samuel’s son back to him. Annie would keep Jackson close from now on; she would never leave him again. She threw a stick down the parking lot and Jackson retrieved it.

Samuel and Warren helped Gibbons and Jonah finish their route for the day and returned to the hotel they were currently living in. Dakota took Annie and Jackson back up to the memorial building where Atticus and Marcus were finishing up. Rebecca greeted them at the door and got down on one knee to pet Jackson. Adam had returned without Tyrell who stayed at the oil refinery. Annie and Jackson led Marcus, Atticus, and Rebecca to the Surfside Hotel, where Samuel and Warren were already settling in. They had to walk the distance, but it was a beautiful day, so no one really minded.

When they arrived at the Surfside Hotel, Samuel was all too excited to introduce them to his son, having Atticus and Rebecca regale his progeny with their stories of Maryland and Hartford, saving New York for Samuel. Samuel took Warren down to the beach with Jackson as the rest sat by the hotel pool. He told him everything, from the bomb shelter to Cape May. And then Warren told him his story…

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

After leaving the city he went as far west as he could. Getting through Jersey was a breeze, but when he hit Pennsylvania he was lost in the mayhem. He hunkered down along the mountainous terrain of the Delaware Water Gap, until a group took him in. Some of them had come from the North, saying that a horde bigger than they had ever seen was heading south towards them. So, they followed the Water Gap out of Pennsylvania and into Delaware.

It wasn’t until they hit the coast that they realized they were completely surrounded. By then there were only five of them left besides Warren. Three wanted to go west, two wanted to go south, hearing rumors of a safe zone in North Carolina.

“I thank my lucky stars every day that I decided against the majority.”

“What made you decide against going west?”

“It was when we found Jackson.”

“I can’t imagine the toll everything took on you.”

“NO, YOU DON’T GET IT, DAD!” Warren broke down, “I gave up on you.”

“And it saved your life.” Samuel tried to make his son not feel guilty.

“You stopped at nothing to get back to us; you even passed up permanent safety in the bomb shelter. If it were me,” Warren despaired, “If it were me I would have failed.”

Samuel let his son grieve, realizing that this could not be fixed overnight. They sat on the beach in the twilight and came to grips with the world around them. Samuel was finally at ease, the closest thing he could get to happiness. It didn’t take long for him to get to thinking that from here on out it would only be further loss and despair. Out there it would be inevitable. So maybe they should stay.

The next day Samuel talked with Marcus and Atticus. After discussing it with Warren at length in the morning, they had decided to stay in the Safe Zone for as long as they could. “If civilization is ever going to start again, it’s going to be a place like this… not some prison.” Samuel rationalized.

Atticus and Marcus would not be budged, but it would take about a week for them to work off the boat they were purchasing from the owner of a marina. He was having them siphon all the rest of the boats and filling spare cans of gas. Once they finished, Charlie, the owner, agreed to let them go with their choice of boat and enough gas to make it to Florida.

Samuel, Chambers, Quinn, and Rebecca officially integrated into the community. Rebecca joined the hospital and Samuel was brought to the oil refinery after being requested by Tyrell. Chambers became a deputy and Quinn a lifeguard.

For the most part they had all settled in by the week’s end. Atticus and Marcus were just about done working off their boat. Tomorrow, Charlie would give them the keys and then they officially set sail for Florida. Marcus had convinced Annie to go with them. They had been spending almost every night together. It was quite clear what they were becoming. Annie was only scared of one thing more than the risen dead, being alone. Marcus relit something inside of her that she had not felt since Wilf. It gave her hope and made her feel safe in this cruel world. It also helped that she knew how to navigate a boat.